Thanks for the updates. I'm surprised the Forest Service would have done that but who knows who was in charge of that project (might not have been a preservation officer type). Here in Oregon it's considered defacing the stone to use shaving cream (or just about anything else). Glad to know I didn't upset you. Cemetery preservation is just something that's close to home for me. My best.
I understand that you dont want to deface tombstones but dont you think someone should get an inscriptions by what ever it takes since we now (as a society) have such a great capacity to store and transit information while we can. I have some interest in tombstones and cemeteries. Some, such as those on the Northshore of Boston (Salem, Marblehead) are, basically bare. You cannot read anything. What is harsher....talc, shaving cream or a New England winter?